prayer

[Raymond Sigrist]

Frederic W. H. Myers:

"I am glad that you have asked me about prayer, because I have rather strong ideas on the subject. First consider what are the facts. There exists around us a spiritual universe, and that universe is in actual relation with the material. From the spiritual universe comes the energy which maintains the material; the energy which makes the life of each individual spirit. Our spirits are supported by a perpetual indrawal of this energy, and the vigor of that indrawal is perpetually changing, much as the vigor of our absorption of material nutriment changes from hour to hour.

I call these 'facts' because I think that some scheme of this kind is the only one consistent with our actual evidence; too complex to summarize here. How, then, should we act on these facts? Plainly we must endeavor to draw in as much spiritual life as possible, and we must place our minds in any attitude which experience shows to be favorable to such indrawal. Prayer is the general name for that attitude of open and sincere expectancy. If we then ask to whom to pray, the answer (strangely enough) must be that that does not much matter. The prayer is not indeed a purely subjective thing; -- it means a real increase in intensity of absorption of spiritual power or grace; -- but we do not know enough of what takes place in the spiritual world to know how the prayer operates; -- who is cognizant of it, or through what channel the grace is given."

 

[Mr Cheese]

Well there are different forms of prayer and different agendas

There are also traditions that speak exactly what does take place in the spiritual realm; the Hermetic tradition for example involves angels and lunar, solar and stelar levels of consciousness

“If we are quite content to pray without paying attention to our prayer
or to God, it shows we have not much idea of who God is, and that we do
not really appreciate the grace and the privilege of being able to speak
to Him in prayer. For prayer is a gift of God, a gift which is by no
means given to all men. Perhaps it is given to few because so few
desire it, and of those who have received it so few have received it
with gratitude.”

–Thomas Merton

…….

In the Name of the Great Life! My good messenger of Light who travelleth to the house of its friends, come, direct my speech and open my mouth in praise that I may wholeheartedly praise the Living Gods.

In the Name of the Great Life! I worship Life and I praise my Lord Yeshu d-Hiya and that great Presence of Glory which emanated from itself.

The Gnostic Prayerbook